The present invention is related to absorbent articles having an inflatable component that is repeatably deformable for providing the circulation of fresh air about the absorbent article.
Absorbent articles for personal care products such as diapers, adult incontinence articles, wipes and feminine hygiene products are widely used consumer products. The large demand for such products has inspired manufacturers to provide improved versions of the products and their methods of manufacture. For instance, the major function of diapers and adult incontinence briefs is to prevent bodily waste from soiling, wetting, or otherwise contaminating clothing or other articles, such as bedding, that come in contact with the wearer. In recent years, disposable diapers, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,003 issued to Kenneth Barclay Buell on Jan. 14, 1975, incorporated herein by reference, have become very popular with the public and have generally replaced durable cloth absorbent articles because of their convenience and reliability. However, despite the effectiveness of such disposable absorbent articles, bodily wastes often are stored in the diaper such that the wastes soil and/or irritate the skin of the wearer. Thus, the search has continued for even more effective devices.
In the past, considerable effort has been made to increase the comfort of absorbent articles such as infant diapers or adult incontinent pads by making a wet product feel dryer to the wearer. This has been accomplished by the use of relatively hydrophobic nonwoven fabric as the topsheet of the product. By maintaining the skin as dry as possible the growth of ammonia liberating bacteria on the skin can be reduced which in turn reduces irritation due to ammonia caused diaper rash.
It is commonly accepted that diaper climate (e.g. temperature and relative dampness, rash) and comfort. Although hydrophobic nonwoven inner layers have been effective in making a wet fabric feel dryer, evaporation from a loaded diaper core through the topsheet results in a high relative humidity inside the space between the topsheet and the wearer""s skin, contributing to skin dampness and rash associated therewith. Thus, reducing the relative humidity inside the space between the topsheet and the wearer""s skin can reduce skin dampness and the consequential rash resulting therefrom.
In addition to reducing skin dampness, the wearer""s comfort may be improved by cooling the skin inside the diaper. By moving air through gaps formed between the diaper and the wearer""s skin, the coefficient of convective heat transfer can be increased and effectively lower the temperature of the skin.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an absorbent article, such as a diaper, that can effectively reduce the relative humidity and cool the skin inside the article when worn by the wearer. The present invention provides an absorbent article incorporating an air moving device which forces fresh air through the article when worn by the wearer, lowering the relative humidity and cooling the skin inside the article.
The present invention is an absorbent article, such as a diaper, comprising a backsheet, a topsheet, an absorbent core disposed intermediate the backsheet and the topsheet and a bellows which is repeatably deformable to force airflow through the absorbent article in a controlled manner. The bellows expands and contracts, utilizing biomechanical motion of the wearer, such as expansion and contraction of the abdomen during normal breathing or normal motion such as bending or leg motion, to draw fresh air into the bellows at one end and to expel the air out of the bellows and into the article at a separate end. The airflow assists in drying and cooling the skin of the wearer which is damp as a result of perspiration induced by elevated temperature and/or high relative humidity associated with evaporation from a loaded absorbent core.
In a preferred embodiment, the bellows comprises a first, body facing side, a second side opposite the body facing side, an upper end and a lower end, wherein the upper end has an inlet port disposed therein to draw fresh air into the bellows and the lower end has an outlet port to expel air out of the bellows. Both the inlet and outlet ports include one-way flaps, providing a unidirectional flow of air entering the inlet ports as well as a unidirectional flow of air exiting the outlet ports. The bellows may be disposed intermediate the topsheet and the absorbent core with the second side attached to the absorbent core or conversely, with the body facing side attached to the topsheet.
In one embodiment, the bellows includes an inflatable air accumulator attached to the outlet port of the bellows. The air accumulator has a body facing side with a plurality of apertures disposed therein forming a cumulative flow area. Once inflated by the bellows, the air accumulator provides for a gradual, generally continuous airflow exiting the plurality of apertures and flowing towards the skin of the wearer.